What happens at nighttime? The cow is determined to find out! Follow along as she meets all kinds of interesting night people. Jess Hannigan’s books are the ones you’ll come back to over and over, with bright, bold artwork that feels somehow brighter and bolder with each reread. I’m a fan for life!

Also loved by Abigail & Jake!

There are few things more beautiful than birdwatching, Spanish, or the reassurance that someone will catch you when you fall. In Fly, Pajarito, Fly! mom is only a bird call away, and her love spans the entire sky. This is the perfect bedtime book to settle the nerves of not-so-sleepyheads. Likewise, it would make a great gift for older kids about to leave the nest and spread their wings.

Wanda is a warthog, not a parrot. When a flock of parrots arrives, she tries to change everything about herself until her friends remind her that she is perfect the way she is. When puppy Ripley showed up, everyone fell in love so I acted like a puppy. Nemo, Barnabus, and Miller reminded me to be me. A good lesson from friends.

Reading If the Moon is like pulling a cozy homemade quilt over the bed and tucking in for a soft night’s sleep. A perfect bedtime rhyming read for anxious minds.

Also loved by Abigail!

Little Ghost wants everything! Or do they? See what happens as Little Ghost discovers if everything…or nothing….or something in between is better.

Do you ever see an object––maybe at your grandma’s house or the antique store––and consider the history behind it? Who made this? Where did it come from? Well, in Story Rug, Class 203 is learning to braid when they get a great idea: each student will bring fabric from home and use the braided rags to make a classroom rug! Listen in as each student shares. Greater than the sum of its parts, each scrap has a story!

Sofia isn’t happy to be stuck at summer camp and away from her video games, but the more time she spends there, the more she realizes that there is something truly unnerving happening at Camp Forestjaw. This fast-paced, high-tech cautionary tale will scare you AND surprise you! Goosebumps meets Black Mirror meets Squid Games.

Disneyland, Dollywood, and Wisconsin Dells are places we love for their fast coasters, colorful characters, and yummy food carts. But did you know––long before ferris wheels and bumper cars––the idea for theme parks has been around since the Medieval period?! For fans of carnivals and rides of every stripe, this book about the history and science of parks is very amusing!

Clever and suspenseful story about a girl who returns from camp to find that her best friend has changed from a loud drum-slinging preteen to a young lady with pearls and pressed dresses with panty hose! Ugh! The whole town has gone perfect and is a mystery to be solved.

Also loved by Abigail!

Garrett and his mom move into a creepy mansion per his late grandfather’s will. His grandfather, a famous writer (Garrett’s dream job), led a reclusive, mysterious life. Garrett’s explorations lead to a spooky lab, spookier basement, a haunted typewriter, and some scary creatures. As Garrett pieces together the strangeness, he worries he may not last the summer. Another wonderful book by D.W. Gillespie!

I would spend every week with Maud if I could! These stories are silly, sweet, and just spooky and sweet enough to keep you hungry for more (but not as hungry as, say, a haunted teapot…)

April Xue is a captivating actor drawn to the bright lights of Broadway. After auditioning for a school play, she’s shocked to discover she didn’t get a role, but is on stage crew instead. April knows it’s because Ms. Rooney is being dramatic about her tracheostomy tube––a device that helps her breathe. Watch as April breaks a leg and breaks down barriers, proving Rooney wrong. The curtain isn’t closed on her dreams!

Kayley will do anything for her older sister, Zoey. Zoey has developmental disabilities and needs a match for a kidney transplant. Kayley insists they take a road trip to see their estranged father. A drag race, a clash with a deer, and a secret side trip to see her boyfriend in college follow in this heartwarming story of family and the importance of showing up for each other.

The Dream Thieves is the fan-favorite of The Raven Cycle, and it is just as amazing in graphic novel format! Seeing Ronan as he confesses his many secrets completely renewed my obsession with this series!

Also available in hardcover!

Teen poet, Clem, is finishing a prison sentence when he meets Finn. In solitary confinement, Finn tells Clem he’s found a wormhole, hoping to go back in time and undo his terrible crime. When Finn goes missing from his cell, Clem has to recollect events and prove his own innocence. This life-affirming, deeply moving novel in verse reminds us that “words belong to everyone, even the messed up and the mixed up.”

Iris lives in the Kentucky backwoods with her sisters. Only they are not her sisters. And their leader, Sol, may not be all he has promised. A thrilling story of how a few wrong turns can get you into a dark place, but trusting yourself can help get you out.

After a dictator is elected president and life goes south for Ellie and her family, they decide to cryogenically freeze themselves for 10 years and wake up when things are hopefully better. But Ellie is unfrozen just a couple of years in to a very different country. Her brother (who did not end up being frozen) fights to rescue her and the two of them seek to find others and a way to survive in this new reality.

A boarding school for teens with the capability to counteract deadly flickerbeasts through mind control training. It is a quest to use the skills and knowledge for good. It is about loyal friendship, a mystery found in research, and the strength of working together. Smart debut.

Sprout Book Club: August Selection

The August 2026 Sprout Book Club selection is The Cow in the Dark at Night by Jess Hannigan. A cheerful cow makes an escape from his home to explore what goes on in the world at night followed by a black cat. He encounters night people (burglars and a scarecrow) and upside-down night people (a vampire). When a spaceship arrives, the cow wonders if he should have declined the invitation in this funny and visually delightful story.

Early praise for the book:

“An exploratory comedy that’ll draw giggles ’til the cows come home.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

Sprout Book Club is the book subscription box for picture book lovers. Every month members will receive a first edition picture book. Set up a subscription for yourself or buy a gift membership for your favorite picture book lover for 3, 6, or 12 months. 

Spark Book Club: August Selection

The August 2026 Spark Book Club selection is Ghost in the Night by Tiffany D. Jackson. Harmony is sure ghosts are real. When she travels with her musician dad, she always goes on ghost tours in each town. When they settle in Savannah, Georgia for the summer, she’s sure she sees a ghost. Soon her new friends are helping her solve a mystery of the potential ghost, an unsolved murder, and a missing person. This is a great action-packed mystery.

Early Sparks for the novel:

“An atmospheric, well-paced adventure exploring supernatural mysteries during a steamy Savannah summer.” – Kirkus

Spark Book Club is the first editions club for middle grade readers. Every month members will receive a first edition middle grade novel — plus a letter written by the author especially for club members. Makes a great gift for the independent reader! Sign ups are available for 3, 6, or 12 months.

ParnassusNext: August Selection

The August 2026 ParnassusNext selection is The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor. A girl cryogenically frozen after a dictator takes over the country, wakes early to a world in chaos. She and her brother risk everything to get back to each other and rewrite history in this propulsive dystopian thriller.

Early praise for the novel:

“A chilling dystopian world that feels more like a warning than speculation.” – Kirkus

ParnassusNext is the book subscription box for YA lovers. Every member of ParnassusNext receives a first edition hardcover of each month’s selected book, signed by the author. There is no membership fee to join — and no line to stand in for the autograph. Not only will you have one of the best YA books of the month when it comes out, you’ll have it straight from the author’s hands, with an original, authentic signature! Set up a subscription for yourself or buy a gift membership for your favorite YA reader for 3, 6, or 12 months.